The queen and Sophia took Master away to the baths. I tried to run after them, but Cyrus placed a hand on my shoulder.
“Alto, would you want the same treatment?”
“Huh?”
“Would you want to be dragged off and shoved into the bath?” he asked.
I pictured Master getting scrubbed from head to toe by the two women while he flailed around, and I shook my head.
“Exactly,” Cyrus said with a shiver.
“I don’t want that. But will Master be okay?”
“He’ll be fine. If he doesn’t want them there, he’ll shake them off and come back on his own. Let’s just wait in his room until he returns.”
“Master has a room here?”
“The queen asked the king to have one ready in advance so he could rest when he came to collect you. That just happened a little sooner than they were expecting.”
“The queen’s really nice,” I replied.
That made me happy. I’d really been hoping someone would show Master the same warmth they’d given me.
“Oh,” Cyrus said suddenly, “I need to apologize to the queen and Sophia for sneaking out of the castle.”
“You can do that later, can’t you. I’m sure they’ll be back soon.”
“Yeah.”
I walked with Cyrus to the room that had been prepared for Master. It was the same one we’d once stayed in, disguised as a bard and his attendant.
Cyrus didn’t bother knocking before he opened the door. The queen and Sophia were already sitting there having tea.
“Why are you here already? Aren’t you supposed to be looking after Setsuna?” he shouted in surprise at the queen, but when Sophia glanced at him, Cyrus straightened up and bowed to apologize.
He tried to back out and quietly shut the door as if nothing had happened, but the queen wasn’t about to let him get away with that.
“Come in, both of you, and have some tea with us,” she said with a sweet smile.
“There’s no escaping now,” Cyrus muttered under his breath, before bowing and taking a seat.
“Come here, Alto dear. We have delicious cookies.”
The mention of cookies was enough to make me step inside the room, but I knew I had to apologize first.
I bowed my head low for sneaking out without permission. I was prepared for a scolding, but the queen and Sophia just said, “Next time tell someone where you’re going. We were worried sick,” and let it go.
With that off my chest, it was time to enjoy the cookies. They asked how we’d found Master, and I told them about the moment I’d spotted him looking so tattered it seemed like the wind would blow him away.
Remembering why I’d brought him here, I explained that I wanted Master to have good food and kind company to help him feel better.
The queen and Sophia nodded repeatedly, promising that they would do their very best to help Setsuna recover.
A little while later, Master came in with Margaret.
He looked cleaner after his bath, and the color in his face looked a little better. He took a moment to get settled while the servants began to carry in one dish after the next and set them on the table.
This looks so good!
The castle meals were always delicious, but tonight’s looked especially good. Master stared blankly at the food. I was sure he must be thinking the same thing, about how delicious it all looked.
Once everyone was served, we began to eat.
At first, Master politely tried to decline, but the queen and Sophia wouldn’t hear of it. They just served him food without asking and set the plate in front of him, staring quietly at Master until he picked up his knife and fork.
They were so determined, it was honestly a little scary, and I didn’t dare say a word. Cyrus must’ve felt the same way, because he only sighed and started eating the mountain of food placed in front of him. Margaret had served his portion while the other two were busy.
“Alto, don’t hesitate to let us know if you’re still hungry. I’ll have the cooks prepare more right away.”
“Okay!”
“And Setsuna, eat as much as you want. We’ll keep your plate piled high.”
“…”
Master gave Sophia a little nod. I felt so glad when I saw that.
I chatted with Master about which dishes I liked the best, and it wasn’t long before I was piling food onto his plate, too.
“Alto, you can have some of mine,” Master said, setting aside some of the food on his own plate for me like he always did when I said something was yummy. But today it was more important that Master ate than me. So I shook my head and told him I didn’t need any. It was nice of him to want to share, but today, he needed to eat at least twice as much as I did.
“Master, if you eat it, you’ll get your strength back!”
“You’re right.”
The queen and Sophia watched over us with warm smiles. Meanwhile, Sophia noticed that Cyrus had already cleaned his plate. “Would you like seconds, Sir Cyrus?”
“No, thanks. I’m pretty full.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. Oh, and you might already know this, but if you serve Georges twice as much as you gave Setsuna, it’ll make him really happy.”
Sophia looked puzzled as she turned to him. “But Sir Georges always eats the same portions you do…”
“Sure, at lunch and dinner he eats as much as me, but Georges always has a hearty breakfast. You probably didn’t know that, Lady Sophia.”
That reminded me of Gramps. He used to have a big breakfast but was careful not to overeat at night. Master, on the other hand, typically didn’t eat much at breakfast, had a bigger lunch, then had a lighter dinner.
“Goodness, I didn’t know that. Is that right?”
“Yes. So when you get married, make sure to cook him a big breakfast.”
“Thank you, Sir Cyrus. That’s very good to know.”
Sophia smiled brightly and Cyrus nodded cheerfully.
Master watched him, looking like he wanted to say something, but in the end, he kept quiet. The queen similarly looked like something was on her mind, but Margaret approached her, and she seemed to forget whatever she’d been about to say.
A little while later, when Master’s appetite began to slow and he seemed tired, the queen gave him a gentle smile.